Rock, Paper, Scissors
by idoodle
Summary: Post midseason finale. Spashley.
1. Chapter 1

Author: Ashley

Pairing: Spencer and Ashley

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. The N does.

Summary: Picks up where the mid-season finale left off. The morning after.

--

**Rock, Paper, Scissors**

One:

Ashley slowly opened one eye and, through a curtain of curly hair, checked her surroundings. Bedroom. _Her_ bedroom. She popped open her other eye and lifted her head, and that's when she felt it. The warmth (naked warmth) pressed against her right side, arm draped across her back, hot breath tickling her shoulder. Memories of the night before started flashing through her head, like a little slide show. Spencer. Trench coat. Naked Spencer. A smile started spreading across her face. Biting her lip, she turned her head and took in a sight she hadn't in a while. A sleeping Spencer. The younger girl's hair was mussed, all over the place, and her lips were slightly parted. However, her face looked completely relaxed, serene. _Gorgeous._ Ashley fought the urge to lean her head down and sweep her lips against the blonde's. She didn't want to wake her. Instead, she laid her head back down on her pillow and stared at the other girl, watching her sleep. She had missed waking up with Spencer by her side. Over the last few months, she had missed a lot of things involving Spencer. But she had herself to blame for that. Her and her fucking issues.

Not wanting to relive past mistakes, she decided to make a change. The running away and selfishness was ending. Right here, right now. This time around, she was going to do things right. She would stick by Spencer, take care of her, treat her better. She didn't want to cause her any more pain. Ever.

_"When the sun shines  
We'll shine together  
Told you I'll be here forever"_

"What the..." Ashley raised her head, wondering where the horrible music was coming from. She quickly scanned the floor around her bed. Spencer's cell phone was lying next to her trench coat near the door. As much as Ashley hated the Rihanna song, she couldn't help but find it adorable that Spencer had it as her ring tone.

_"You can stand under my umbrella  
Ella ella ella eh eh eh  
Under my umbrella  
Ella ella ella eh eh eh"_

"Oh, god," she mumbled, cringing at the atrociousness of the chorus.

"Don't hate."

Ashley lowered her eyes, grinning widely at a now awake Spencer. "What? I love Rihanna."

"Liar." Spencer gave the brunette a lazy smile before tucking the sheet around her and rolling onto her back.

"She's hot, and she has an accent. What's not to love?" Ashley asked, propping herself up onto her elbow and looking down at the blonde. The ring tone continued. "Do you want to answer that?"

Spencer shook her head. "Don't wanna get up."

"Oh. Well, I can--" Ashley started to sit up, but was stopped by Spencer's hand wrapped around her arm. She allowed the blonde to pull her back down against the mattress.

"No, stay. I..." Spencer licked her lips, "I just want to lay here with you."

"Fine by me," Ashley happily replied, slipping an arm around Spencer's midsection and snuggling in close. Spencer's fingertip moved along her arm, drawing circles on her skin, making her tingle. "Last night was amazing. I..."

"Were you surprised?"

"Surprised doesn't even begin to describe it."

Spencer giggled, "Good. That's the reaction I was hoping for." She rested a cheek on Ashley's head, inhaling the fragrance of lavender, wanting nothing more than to stay in this position for the rest of the day. "Hey, what time is it?"

Ashley's eyes flitted to the small clock-radio sitting on her bedside table. "A little after twelve."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Why so shocked? We didn't go to sleep until, what was it, seven?" Ashley grinned naughtily and scrunched up her nose.

"Something like that," the blonde agreed, with a grin of her own. "Guess that means school isn't going to happen today."

"Oh, sorry. I should've set the alarm for you or something."

"It's okay. There's nowhere else I'd rather be at the moment."

Ashley felt her stomach do a little flip flop. She cocked her head, looking up at Spencer, getting lost in her blue eyes. "I've missed this. I've missed you." She felt a tightness in her throat, the moment overwhelming her. Something she wasn't quite used to. "I've missed us."

Spencer scooted down the mattress, getting eye level with the other girl. Her hand moved up to Ashley's face, palm pressed against a cheek, thumb brushing lips. Eyes darkening, she shifted, replacing her thumb with her lips. The kiss was soft, sweet, short. Spencer leaned her forehead against Ashley's and smiled, "I've missed us, too."

Ashley smiled brightly. "Does this mean we're... an 'us' again?"

The smile on Spencer's face slowly faded. Eyebrows scrunched together.

Ashley pulled back, searching the other girl's face carefully. "Guess not," she muttered, sitting up fully. She was upset. The happy, Spencer-filled fog she was in earlier was starting to evaporate.

Spencer sat up. "Ash, I'm not sure I'm ready to get back together. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to."

Ashley rubbed her head, tangling her fingers in her messy curls. "I don't understand. What was last night, then?"

After a beat, the blonde answered, "A thank you."

"A thank you?" Ashley glanced over her shoulder with confusion in her eyes.

"For getting my mom to go to Pride," Spencer smiled, reaching for one of Ashley's hands. "It meant so much to me, and I--"

Ashley tore her hand away and scooted to the edge of the bed. "So last night was no more than a 'thank you' fuck?" she spat, growing more upset.

"No! No, that's not what I meant." Spencer shook her head. "It was more – so much more than that."

Wrapped in a comforter, Ashley stood near the bed, staring at the girl she loved, "I don't think it was. Not for you."

Spencer grabbed hold of Ashley's hand, lacing their fingers together and tugging the brunette forward. "Ash, last night was perfect. It's never anything less when it's us."

Ashley swallowed down the lump in her throat, believing what was being said, seeing it in the other girl's eyes. "I know."

"And I want to be with you, I do, but..." Spencer dropped her head and averted her gaze, no longer able to look at Ashley. Instead, she focused on their hands. "I'm not ready. And I'm sorry if my hesitancy to jump back into a relationship with you hurts, but you can't really blame me, can you? You--"

"I know," the brunette interrupted, lowering her eyes, "I broke your heart."

"Yeah... And I guess I'm scared to give it back to you. It's still not completely healed yet."

"I'm sorry, Spence." The darker haired girl looked up into blue eyes. "I'll never stop being sorry. But I can promise, it won't happen again."

"Ash, you can't make those kind of promises."

"Yes, I can, 'cause I know it's true. I never, ever want to hurt you again." She released her hand from Spencer's grasp and used it to push back blonde strands of hair that had fallen in the younger girl's face. "I hate not being with you," she said softly, barely above a whisper. "I can't stand it. I need you, Spence." She lightly ran the pad of her thumb along Spencer's cheek and jaw. "I love you."

Spencer's eyes fluttered closed. "I love you, too."

"But you can't be with me?"

Opening her eyes, Spencer shook her head. "Not yet. Please don't be mad."

Ashley gave her a tight, sad smile. "I'm not. How can I be? I'm the one that fucked everything up."

"Ash."

"So, what are we? Was last night a one-time thing? Now we're back in just-friends mode?"

"I don't know." Spencer tilted her head. "Let's just take things slow, see what happens."

Ashley laughed softly, "If last night is what you consider slow, then, okay, I'm all for taking things slow."

"Cute, but no," Spencer smiled. "I don't think we should make what happened last night, and a good part of this morning, a habit. It's not healthy."

"You're no fun."

"Sorry."

"Stop, no sorrys. I understand." Ashley moved back a few steps, distancing herself from the naked blonde. "It might be a good idea if we get dressed. If you stay naked and in my bed, I might not be able to stick with the 'go slow' plan."

"Oh, right. Um..." Spencer eyed the bedroom, clearing her throat, "can I borrow some clothes? I wasn't wearing much when I came over."

-- 


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey, thank you so, so much for the comments! I really appreciate every single one of 'em. And for those of you who were wondering if this was going to be an on-going story, the answer is yes. So I hope you continue to read (and comment). Thanks again!_

**--**

**Rock, Paper, Scissors**

Two:

Spencer rummaged through her backpack, searching for the folder that held her History notes. She had a test in a couple hours that she hadn't gotten a chance to study for. How could she have, with the weekend she had? A secret smile crept its way onto her face, as she thought about the night she had with Ashley. She was halfway through her school day and probably eighty-five percent of the time had been spent thinking about Ashley. Her concentration was off. She was barely able to take proper notes in her first two classes. She couldn't get the brunette out of her head. Which was bad. Really, really bad. Why? Because the more she thought about Ashley, the more she wanted to see her. And the more she wanted to see her, the more she wanted to repeat everything they had done the other night. That could _not_ happen. She had to stay strong; stick to the go slow plan.

_Slow! Slow! Slow!_

Spencer exhaled loudly. She couldn't find her folder. She must have left it in her locker. She zipped up her backpack, and was about to turn around, when a yellow flyer was thrust in her face. She reached for the flyer and looked up to see a dark-haired boy. It took her a second to realize who he was; the boy from last school year's Club Day, who ran the Gay-Straight America table.

"Hey. Spencer, right?"

Spencer nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't remember ever getting your name."

"Josh."

"Josh, hey," Spencer smiled, and held up the flyer. "What's this?"

"I'm havin' a party Friday night. You should come. It'll be fun," he said, giving her a friendly smile. "And you can bring a friend, if ya want. You know what they say, the more the merrier."

"Uh, thanks," she said with a nod, glancing down at the flyer. "I'll think about it."

"Please do. It'll be great to have you there." Josh backed away, saying, "Well, I've got to get going. I'll, uh, see you around."

Spencer gave him a small wave goodbye before turning her attention back to the flyer. Keg, live band, swimming pool. She bit her lip. Maybe she should go. She hadn't been to a party in a long, long time. It could be fun. In fact, she was already promised it would be. Spencer folded the flyer in half and tucked it into the front pocket of her backpack.

--

"Hey, you," Chelsea said happily, as Spencer joined her at the table. "What's up?"

"Not much." Spencer squinted her eyes from the sun shining behind her friend's head. "How are you doing?"

"I'm hangin' in there." Chelsea half-shrugged and gave the blonde a small smile. "I missed you yesterday."

"Oh, yeah. I, um, overslept." Spencer shyly ducked her head to hide the blush she felt coming on. She set her bag of lunch in front of her and distracted herself by pulling out its contents.

Chelsea quirked up an eyebrow. "Long night?"

"Long, long night." Spencer's blush deepened. She flicked her gaze around the courtyard, then stopped and focused on her friend. "I was with Ashley."

Dark eyes widened. "_With_, with?"

Spencer nodded and slowly smiled.

Chelsea leaned forward. "Spill, girl. Are you two back together?"

Spencer's face fell slightly. "Um, no."

"Oh."

"My decision, not hers," Spencer swallowed, lowering her eyes. She shifted in her seat. "I want to, but... I don't know. I just can't. Not yet."

"Hey, it's understandable," Chelsea said, lightly patting Spencer's arm. "She hurt you. Now you have your guard up; you're protecting your heart."

"How do I let my guard down? Open myself back up to her?"

"Give it some time. You'll know when you're ready."

"Yesterday, when we woke up, she looked so happy. And then I told her I wasn't ready for a relationship yet, and her face, it was..." Spencer sighed. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the pained look on Ashley's face. "She was crushed, Chels. I felt horrible."

Chelsea frowned, "Did you two talk about it? Does she understand where you're coming from?"

"We talked, decided to take things slow. I think she understands. Still, it was hard." Spencer screwed the cap off her water bottle. "And it hasn't stopped being hard since."

"What do you mean?"

"She's been on my mind. All day. I can't focus on anything." Spencer sipped her water.

Chelsea looked passed the blonde, spotting a familiar figure approaching the table. She grinned. "When's the last time you saw or spoke to her?"

"Yesterday afternoon."

"Sounds to me like you miss her."

Spencer chewed on her lip, glancing down at her food. "Yeah, I--" she stopped abruptly when a pair of hands covered her eyes. Lavender shampoo filled her nostrils. Lips softly touched the outer shell of her ear, tickling, as a raspy "guess who?" was whispered against it, sending shivers down her spine. "Ash?" she guessed, bringing her hands up to remove the ones over her eyes. She twisted around, flashing a big smile to the brunette standing over her.

Ashley gave a quick wave to Chelsea, who returned the gesture, before gazing down at Spencer with a cute crinkled nose grin. "How'd you know?"

"I can always tell when it's you."

Ashley settled down next to Spencer. "I'll have to disguise my voice next time."

"I'll still know." Spencer put her hand between them, against the brunette's leg, wrapping her fingers around the edge of the bench. She squeezed, resisting the urge to touch the other girl. "So, um, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to kidnap you."

"Kidnap me?"

"Uh huh. Just for lunch, I know you have that big History test later today."

Spencer tilted her head. "And where will you be taking me?"

"I cannot disclose the location. It's a secret."

"A secret, huh?"

"Yes, a secret, special place."

"Oh, special too?"

"Not yet. It will be, once you're there."

Spencer blushed and quickly eyed Chelsea, who mouthed 'aw'. She turned back to Ashley, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I think you're just trying to sweet talk me into going with you."

"I don't have to," Ashley said confidently, holding the blonde's gaze. Brown burned into blue. "Do I?"

Spencer swallowed. _Slow! Slow! Slow!_ "I, um... we should go." She nodded once, tearing her eyes away. "Yeah."

Ashley smirked, watching the blonde quickly shove all of her stuff into her backpack. She stood and rubbed her hands down her jean clad thighs. "I'll see you later, Chelsea."

"Bye Ashley," Chelsea smiled. She reached for Spencer's arm, tugging her close enough to whisper, "Call me later."

Spencer nodded, grinning. "I will. Promise."

Ashley grabbed Spencer's bag from her, tossing it over her own shoulder, before taking the younger girl's hand. Receiving no resistance, she laced their fingers together. "Ready?"

Spencer squeezed the brunette's hand. "Ready."

--


End file.
